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January 17, 2017 Siena Catholic Academy

Siena Notes 2617 EAST AVENUE , ROCHESTER , NEW YORK

Our Purpose

Who am I and why am I here? These are two questions Mrs. Mancini and her students pursue at the beginning of their sixth grade Humanities class. Of course, these are questions that have been asked by thoughtful people for millennia and her class, which studies human culture and history, examines how we have answered those questions over time. Our goal at Siena is for students to recognize that they are God’s gifts to the world and that they have an obligation to make the world a better place.

There is a potential for misunderstanding ourselves as gifts from God - that knowledge could lead to arrogance. But if we understand that the gift of our personhood is for God’s greater glory and for the betterment of others, then we can begin to see that our lives are not ours alone. It is helpful, in a Catholic context, to know the broad outlines of God’s will for us: to be virtuous people who know God. God demands that we be prophets and actors, that we seek justice and peace and that we demonstrate compassion. On Sunday, we heard from the Psalmist who proclaimed, “Here I am Lord; I come to do Your will” and God replied, “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” And we heard from Isaiah that the Lord, “formed me as his servant from the womb” to announce ”your justice in the vast assembly.”

It is difficult for anyone, especially our young people, to discern their purpose. It is even more difficult to take up the burden of that purpose, for the life of virtue is not one which brings the kinds of rewards that a materialistic world prize. Nonetheless, we can find in loving others and serving God the true happiness that is our aim.

The despair that many of us experience and may have led some to take their own lives is very real. I would be a fool to pretend to understand the workings of the human mind and to know the solution to what ails any individual. But I would suggest that by shifting our focus to the needs of others, our own concerns and anxieties diminish in importance and we may find a sense of purpose that propels us to the greater good.

Martin Kilbridge

Mrs. Mancini explores human cultures and our collective struggle to understand ourselves in her Humanities class.

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Siena to Join McQuaid and Mercy in March for Life, January 27th

The March for Life, the annual pro-life rally protesting abortion, is sched-uled for January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Clare Adams, an eighth grad-er, wants to know if you and your child are interested. Students (and inter-ested parents/guardians) will travel by bus up and back in one day. We will be joining McQuaid and Mercy on their buses. Bus fare is $25. You would bring lunch and pay for dinner at a stop. Students should let Clare know if they plan to go, but parents/guardians should complete either the McQuaid or the Mercy permission form that is included in the emailing from two weeks ago. Boys will go with the McQuaid bus and girls will go on the Mercy bus, unless a family wants to go together. Please contact the appropriate person regarding your interest:

Liz Gilges is the contact for the McQuaid bus 489-2344 (cell) Lizgilges@gmail.com

For the Mercy bus, Mrs. Christine DiNovo is the contact person and her number is 203-1797 (home) or 978-9377 (cell) cdinovo@rochester.rr.com

Dawn Adams, Clare’s mother, will be going as a chaperone. Parents and Guardians are invited to ride the buses as well. If you would like to speak with Dawn, you can call her at 845-656-6777.

Eighth Grade Trip

Eighth graders will be voting on the favorite of three destinations for the eighth grade class trip. We want to alert families to anticipated costs for budgeting purposes. For the last few years, the trips have run approximate-ly $550 and we have collected three payments over a three month period beginning in late January. We will schedule a parent informational meeting when we have details. The trip is scheduled for May 18-20.

Optional Lunch Ordering

The next cycle for the Optional Lunch is set for February 1st to April 28th. The online order form are available on January 10th at 9 am. The system will be closed for orders tonight, January 17th, at 11:45 pm. Payments will be due by tomorrow, January 18th at 3 pm. On a related note, the price of the DiBella’s subs has risen from $4.50 to $5.00.

Auditions set for Musical: Willy Wonka

Tina Crandall-Grommel, Director, and Diane Gelose, Music Director, an-nounced that this year’s spring musical will be Willy Wonka. The musical is set for April 28th and 29th. Auditions will be held January 30th and Febru-ary 1st from 3 until 5pm. Students need only audition on one of those two dates.

Siena Community Bowling Night

One of the events we have planned for Catholic Schools Week (January 30

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News and Events

Calendar Reminders: Click for our Google Calendar

1/17 Optional Lunch order system closes 11:45 pm

1/18 Optional Lunch payment due 3pm

1/23 Science and Math Midterms

1/24 Soc. Studies (or Humanities 6) and ELA Midterms

1/25 Religion and For. Lang (or Humanities 6) Midterms

1/30-2/3 Catholic Schools Week

1/30, 2/1 Auditions for Musical 3-5pm

2/2 Siena Bowling Night 7-9pm

2/3 First Friday Mass 9:20am

Opportunities to Help

...and Be Helped

Judges for Odyssey of the Mind

The Odyssey of the Mind teams still needs judges for the regional compe-tition March 4th.

There are two training sessions avail-able 1/28 at 10:30 am and 2/2 at 6:30 PM

We also need an additional coach.

Please let Ms. Sullivan know you are willing to judge and register at: http://www.ootmweb.org/region14/beanofficial.htm

Scholarships Available

Rochester Area Community Founda-tion's 2017-18 scholarship season is now open. With more than 130 scholarship opportunities.

Trivia Night—Save of the Date

Our second annual Trivia Night fund-raiser is being held on March 24th at Casa Larga. We are seeking Auction Items. Please contact Ann Geyer if you are interested in offering items or services.

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to February 3) is a bowling night for students and families. It will be held on Thursday, February 2 from 7 until 9 at the AMF lanes in Webster. Res-ervations are due Friday, January 27th. A flyer accompanies this week’s emailing.

Re-Registration for 2017-2018

Believe it or not, it is time to register for the 2017-2018 school year! All sixth and seventh grade families need to fill out a registration form and, in the case of individual parish expecta-tions, a parish commitment form. A packet with this information will be sent home with your children in the coming days.

End of Day Pickup

When picking up your children, please drive past the buses that line the first circle in front of the church and park in the lot near the statue of Mary. As long the buses do not have their stop signs extended, this is permissible. This way we can alleviate congestion on East Avenue. Do not drive past the buses in the second circle in front of the school.

Supervision at the school ends at 3:15. If your child is not taking the bus home, he or she needs to be picked up by 3:15.

Rochester Fencing Club

The Rochester Fencing Club is excited to offer students from Siena Catholic Academy an opportunity to join our ex-tracurricular fencing club already serving middle school students from Our Lady of Mercy and train together on Tues-days from 3:20-4:30 PM at their new facility on Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road just 9 minutes from Siena. A flyer and information sheet accompany this week’s emailing.

Diocesan Deaf Catholic Retreat Scheduled for March 4, 2017

The Diocesan Office for Cultural Diversity, in collaboration with the Deaf Leadership Commission is sponsoring a Dioc-esan Deaf Catholic Retreat on March 4, 2017 to be held at St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry. It is a full day (8:30-7pm) retreat done all in ASL Sign Language and interpreters are available for those who need one.

Some of our students visited Hope House as part of our

Advent/Lent Christian Service Project.